Laverne Cox Makes Emmy History: First Transgender Person Nominated

This year’s list of Emmy nominees also included openly gay actors Matt Bomer, Joe Mantello, and Jim Parsons, all were nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a TV Movie or Mini-Series for their work in “The Normal Heart.” Parsons was also nominated for Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series for “The Big Bang Theory.” Out comedian and actress Kate McKinnon received her first nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on “Saturday Night Live.” Moreover, Sarah Paulson received a nomination for Outstanding Actress in a TV Movie or Mini-Series for “American Horror Story: Coven”; and, Jesse Tyler Ferguson received another nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for playing a gay dad on “Modern Family,” while Nathan Lane received a nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his role on “Modern Family.”

LGBT characters and storylines were also popular with voters. Andre Braugher received a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy for playing an out cop on “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” “Orange is the New Black’s” Taylor Schilling (whose character is bisexual) was nominated for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series and both Uzo Aduba and Natasha Lyonne (who play lesbians on the show) were nominated for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. Mark Ruffalo also received a nomination for Outstanding Actor in a TV Movie of Mini-Series for his role as a HIV/AIDS activist in “The Normal Heart.”

All of the nominees for Outstanding Reality Competition Program (“The Amazing Race,””Project Runway,” “Dancing with the Stars,” “So You Think You Can Dance,” ‘Top Chef,” “The Voice”) featured LGBT contestants or guests. Tim Gunn and Jane Lynch were each nominated for Outstanding Host for a Reality Program.

In addition to Foster, out directors Paris Barclay was nominated for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for episodes of “Glee” and Ryan Murphy was nominated for Outstanding Directing for a TV-Movie for “The Normal Heart.”